Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555

Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555 is the first game in over 25 years to cover the political and religious conflicts of early 16th Century Europe. Few realize that the greatest feats of Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ignatius Loyola, Henry VIII, Charles V, Francis I, Suleiman the Magnificent, Ferdinand Magellan, Hernando Cortes, and Nicolaus Copernicus all fall within this narrow 40-year period of history. This game covers all the action of the period using a unique card-driven game system that models both the political and religious conflicts of the period on a single point-to-point map.

There are six main powers in the game, each with a unique path to victory :

The Ottomans
The Habsburgs
The English
The Valois Dynasty of France
The Papacy
The Protestants

Here I Stand is the first card-driven game to prominently feature secret deal-making. A true six-sided diplomatic struggle, the game places a heavy emphasis on successful alliance-building through negotiations that occur away from the table during the pre-turn Diplomacy Phase. Set during the period in which Niccolò Machiavelli published his masterpiece "The Prince," backstabbing is always possible, especially because the card deck is loaded with event and response cards that can be played by any power to disrupt the plans of the powers in the lead.

Here I Stand integrates religion, politics, economics and diplomacy in a card-driven design. Games vary in length from 3-4 hours for a tournament scenario up to full campaign games that run about twice the time. Rules to play games with 3, 4, or 5 players are also included. The 3-player game is just as well balanced as the standard 6-player configuration, taking advantage of the natural alliances of the period.

Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555
500th Anniversary Reprint Edition
Here I Stand was due for a reprint in 2017, but with October 31, 2017 being the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses, Ed Beach and his team of Here I Stand enthusiasts have put together a series of enhancements to the original game that transform this reprint into a deluxe 500th anniversary treatment.

This update kit is designed for owners of the 1st or 2nd printings of Here I Stand who don't want an entire new game, but would like to only update their game with the new components. This upgrade kit includes:

new card decks
a card of updated charts,
six new power cards,
a half sheet of new counters
the new rules and scenario books.